The Challenges of Family Business
Family owned businesses have to deal with a lot of challenges that do not affect their non-family owned counterparts. Whenever family members and relatives work together, emotional interference is often prevalent when it comes to business decision making.
There are certain family companies where it is very difficult to control the daily operations. On the other hand, there are other companies where a high turnover rate is common as far as non-family employees are considered.
It’s important to understand the other types of challenges of running a family business so you can skillfully tackle them when the need arises.
Here are some of the challenges of family businesses:
Difference of Opinion
There is always difference of opinion whenever multiple individuals are involved in running a business. However, real problems start when the difference of opinion leads to ‘sparks flying’ – a phenomenon common in businesses owned and run by families.
Emotions make it even more difficult to arrive at a business decision when sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews as well as father and mother work in a fairly limited space.
For a person who is responsible for running a company, it is very important to understand the emotional dimension and make objective decisions to effectively overcome any barriers.
Unfortunately, when family members and relatives are involved, it becomes very difficult to make objective decisions regarding abilities and skills of one another. One has to deal with emotional outbursts, interferences, and turbulence.
Problems for Managers
The president of a family-owned business is not always the person responsible for managing employees. It’s often the case in family run businesses that an elder statesman is appointed the chairman or president; however, the daily operations are managed by other family members.
The manager might also be restricted in terms of what he or she can do due to emotional involvement. Efficiency might also be significantly reduced because of those relatives that engage in chatting during work hours.
Hiring Unqualified Family Members
Another challenge of family owned businesses is hiring of unqualified family members. What would you do if your sister called you up and requested that your brother in law be put in a job? This is very common and often leads to unqualified members being hired. They not only contribute very little to the organization’s growth, but they also affect other employees. For instance, they may avoid doing unpleasant tasks or perhaps take privileges other non-family member employees are not entitled to. This demoralizes other hard-working employees and may result in high turnover rates.
Status Quo Blocking Growth
When a few relatives in such businesses grow older, they typically adopt a status quo attitude. They are generally afraid of risk and do not want to make any changes to the company. This attitude results in a blockage in the company’s growth.
It is crucial to put an end to this mentality if the company is to grow and expand its operations. Don’t forget that you have to take risks in order to accomplish your goals.
Please visit spiral2grow author, Moshe Ratson at his Google+ Profile: +Moshe Ratson
